Karyn Beard, who has taught in Rutherford County schools for 13 years, said the changes to collective bargaining rights will be good for schools. / Samuel M. Simpkins / The Tennessean

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Michael Cass | The Tennessean

Mood of Tennessee

When Republicans took control of the state legislature this year, they quickly got to work reforming two policies they said were letting too many bad teachers off the hook: tenure requirements and collective bargaining rights.

But a new poll shows Tennesseans didn’t feel the same urgency to make those changes.

The Vanderbilt Poll found more than half of state residents feel extending the required time in the classroom before tenure from three years to five will weaken education or have no effect, while36 percent believe it will make a positive difference.

Opinions of the changes to collective bargaining, which stripped some power from teachers unions and left final decisions on contracts in the hands of school boards, were even more negative.

More than 59 percentof poll respondents said they either strongly oppose or somewhat oppose the changes, while about32 percent said they favor them to one degree or another.

“There’s too much blame placed on teachers for students not learning,” said Kenny Mullins, amusician and activist in East Nashville. “Parents should have more responsibility.”

The poll found Tennessee residents care about education more than any other issue but the economy, which is their biggest concern by far. John Geer, a Vanderbilt political scientist and co-director of the poll, said there was a gap, however, “between what the average Tennessean wants and what the state legislature did.”

Geer said the opposition to the change in collective bargaining rights demonstrates that most people “don’t like to see rights taken away.” While legislators listened to some constituents in their districts, they didn’t have a feel for statewide opinion, he said.

“Even Republicans aren’t wild about the idea,” he said.

Insurance is concern

Susanne Buttrey, who taught in Cheatham County schools for 40 years, retired this spring. She said she didn’t want to, but her union’s diminished power gave her no choice.

Buttrey, 60, said she feared the school district would start contributing less and less money toward teachers’ health insurance. She said she saw that starting to happen earlier this year.

“This was fixing to cost me money until I was able to get on Medicare,” Buttrey said. “I really could not afford to take that kind of cut.

“I felt I still had a lot to give. I opted out, and I really didn’t want to. The only safe and sure thing was to leave this year, to know my retirement was safe.”

Karyn Beard, who lives in Murfreesboro and has taught in Rutherford County’s school system for 13 years — earning tenure after three — said the changes will be good for schools.

Beard is a member of Professional Educators of Tennessee, which offers itself as an alternative to the dominant union, the Tennessee Education Association, and testified in favor of changing collective bargaining rights.

“So many teachers don’t need to be in the building anymore,” Beard said. “You’re going to keep the best teachers. The (tenure) process needs to be a little more difficult to achieve than it is.”